Wii U shipments miss targets at 3.45M, projected 9M for next fiscal year
The Wii U shipped 3.45 million units worldwide as of March 31, a figure well short of the 4 million projected in January, itself adjusted from initial forecasts of 5.5 million. That means the Wii U only shipped around 390,000 units worldwide in the last three months.
In a financial statement, Nintendo said its console failed to "maintain the initial sales momentum" due to delays of subsequent games, and the company aims to remedy this in the second half of this year through to next year by "releasing key Nintendo titles." The company believes this'll help the Wii U attain its projected shipping figures of 9 million for the next fiscal year (April 1 2013 to March 31 2014).
Nintendo's fiscal year net profits came in at almost half the company's projections, down from a projected ¥14 billion to just over ¥7 billion, or around $71 million. The figure nonetheless represents significant turnaround from the ¥43 billion net loss posted for the previous fiscal year. Nintendo forecasts net profits of ¥55 billion for its next fiscal year.
3DS shipping figures continue to climb, with the handheld now at 31.09 million, up over a million in the last quarter. The Wii remains short of the 100M mark at 99.84 million. The Wii outperformed the Wii U in the last quarter, shipping 70,000 units more at 460,000.
On the software side, Nintendo shifted 13.42 million Wii U games since the console's launch late last year. The bundled-in Nintendo Land continues to be the console's best performer at 2.6 million units, followed by New Super Mario Bros. U at 2.1 million.
3DS software figures are up to 95.03 million, with New Super Mario Bros. 2. leading the line last year at 6.42 million units worldwide. As Animal Crossing: New Leaf prepares to head west, Nintendo will be boosted by shifting 3.86 million units of the 3DS sim in Japan.
Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 figures are both now over the 8 million mark. 2012 arrival Paper Mario: Sticker Star is up to 1.97 million, and Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, which was released just before the close of Nintendo's fiscal year, is at 1.22 million.
